Inherently: A Booth and Brennan Summertime Love Story
by givesup
Summary: Jared gets into trouble - a lot of trouble. How far will Booth go to save him this time? Or is it Booth that needs the saving? And is Brennan even capable of saving Booth or will the situation destroy them and what they have before all is said and done?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I was going to write this really long and elaborate authors note but I don't think I want to do that. I think I talk way too much. I'll just let the story speak for itself. The only thing you should know beforehand is that the start of this story takes place sometime during season 5 but before The Parts in the Sum of the Whole. That means Hannah never existed! And yay for that. Am I right? **

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**Inherently: Chapter 1**

**Wednesday June 9****th**** 11:04 PM**

An unwavering blow of a right knee landed perfectly against his lower ribcage. The force of the hit mixed with his own weakness sent him staggering forward. His legs were unsteady but he managed to keep himself up even though he was hunched over and clutching his side. The assaulter grabbed him by the back of his shirt to make sure that he didn't fall to the ground before he was finished with him. "I'm not fucking around, Jared. I want every single penny of my money by the thirtieth. I think I'm being pretty fucking gracious, don't you?" Another knee to the ribs. "_Owwfff_!" Jared's grunt of pain echoed around the back of the apartment buildings. The flood light above them buzzed as it casted a jaundice yellow glow below. Two or three dogs barked at a distance. But no person made a sound. No one opened a door, no one peered out of a window from behind a curtain. Nothing happened. Jared could bet that half those people knew exactly what was going on but he also knew that in the part of town he was, everyone was smart enough to mind their own business. No matter what was going on outside of your home – you just didn't get involved.

Jared's mouth hung open as pain rung through his body. His stomach flipped and he heaved – nothing but saliva dripping from his mouth as he did so. He took two deep breaths and kept his head down – not wanting to get hit in the face again. Another dry heave. He spit. The assaulter closed the distance between them once more and bent over so his face was close to Jared's and he spoke through gritted teeth an inch away from his ear.

"Don't fuck me over. Big brother ain't here anymore to cover your worthless ass."

He shoved Jared hard and he stumbled again, not falling though, not giving him that satisfaction. Now several feet away again, Jared turned his head so that he was looking into the eyes of his attacker. He took the distance as an opportunity to try and catch his breath. He used the back of his hand to wipe the moisture he felt around his mouth. He didn't know if it was spit or blood.

"June thirtieth, Jared." The man pointed a stiff finger. "Or you're done." After one last hard stare the attacker began to walk away coolly, not at all concerned that Jared would try to run up on him once he turned his back.

He took a few wobbly steps backwards. When he felt his back hit the graffiti covered bricks of the rundown apartment building he slid down until he was seated in the dirt. He spit again and wiped at his mouth. He looked down at the back of his hand. The flood lights above not bright enough to determine if the wet residue there was blood or not. Next, he lifted his shirt to inspect his side. He ran his finger tips tenderly over his ribs but even with such delicacy pain still lanced through him. "Fuck!" He threw his head backwards and bit back the yelp that threatened to erupt when he connected with the wall.

**Friday June 18****th**** 7:47 PM**

Booth balled up a plain black v-neck t-shirt and tossed it into his suitcase. He wasn't usually a last minute packer, but for this trip, he had waited until the very last minute. And now, admittedly, he felt a tad flustered trying to get everything together. What had started as neatly folded clothing being placed strategically inside his suitcase quickly escalated to half folded half not folded items being crammed into whatever spot it landed when he threw it into his suitcase. At first Brennan ignored it but as time passed and more and more clothing began to pile on top of each other she began to practically see the wrinkles forming on his clothing right before her very eyes and it was making her crazy. She stared at the crumpled mess as Booth continued to shove his clothes back and forth in the closet as he sought more items to pack.

"And please, Bones, please for _my_ sake; don't give the new guy a hard time."

Without looking away from the disaster in his suitcase she replied. "Booth I'm not out to give people a hard time. He'll be treated according to how he performs. I have no problem with intelligent and rational people." She explained and paused. "Who enjoy _not_ wasting my time." He didn't even try to stop the snort that emitted from the back of his throat. "So basically you have a problem with anyone who isn't you?" His laugh was muffled by the closet that he was still standing inside of but it was not missed by Brennan who smirked.

Another shirt was thrown and it landed on her lap. She sighed loud enough for him to hear and stood up from his bed. "Booth you have to know that this is driving me absolutely insane. If it's not a suit it's like you don't know what to do with it. You can't fold." She accused him.

He stopped rummaging for the moment and walked out of the closet with his hands firmly placed on his hips and an exaggerated expression of shock on his face. "I can fold. I just don't have time to do it according to Dr. Brennan's standards at the moment."

"Obviously." She turned away from him and looked down at the pile. She began to take everything out one by one, fold the items again and place them neatly _back_ into his suitcase.

Once he noticed what she was doing he quickly moved to stand just behind her. To keep from reaching out, grabbing her waist and pulling her back against him he put his hands in his pockets. "_Booones,"_ he whined but still managed an appreciative tone, "you don't have to do that." He added sincerely. He was fairly certain that partners didn't fold each other's clothing. No, folding each other's clothing definitely did not fall into the partner's category. Or friends category for that matter. It was so tiring trying to constantly categorize their every word, touch, or gesture. It was just _so_ tiring. Most of the time he would end up over analyzing the situation which would lead to confusion which would end in a headache and him just not caring. Unlike when this whole thing between them first started when he cared about everything too much. He used to care too much and he created too many rules which were made to make things easier but in reality did just the opposite.

"It's ok." She smiled. "I want to."

He didn't argue. The scene that was playing out before him….it felt…it felt _good_. It felt domestic and home-y and he didn't mind living in a little fantasy world for the short time she would be in his bedroom. There were more embarrassing things to fantasize about. Pretending that she's his in the way he wants her to be and she's folding his laundry because she loves him and loves doing these things for him… definitely one of the more respectable fantasies. "You're way too nice to me." He mumbled as he walked by her and towards his dresser. He started rooting through his sock drawer.

"Well this was way too irritating to ignore." She pulled a wrinkly navy blue t-shirt from the pile with _Fender _spelled out in red letters. It had small holes around the arm pit area and what looked to be a grease stain towards the bottom hem of the shirt.

"This… is….clean? Yes?"

He looked a tad insulted. "Of course it's clean Bones." He walked back to her, dropped a few socks and undershirts off on the bed and grabbed the shirt from her hands. He held it out in front of himself for a second, looked it over then brought it to his nose and sniffed. "Yep. It's clean." He handed it back to her. As long as _he_ knew it was clean that's all that mattered. She folded it and put it in the suitcase as Booth walked back to the dresser and opened the second drawer down and started riffling through his boxers.

"So I'm sure Parker is very excited to be able to spend this time with you and you're family."

The woman could switch topics and change his mood quicker than anyone he'd ever known.

His hands stilled and his muscles froze. He stood stock still while he tried to control his reaction, even though at this point, he'd probably already lost that battle. He knew her eyes were on him, trying to decipher his reaction, or lack there off. Booth had been at war with himself over the last year going back and forth between A. completely separating himself and his son from certain people in his so called family. Or B. allowing his past to be his past and allowing Parker to make decisions himself based on how _Parker_ felt. He wanted to protect Parker from people he knew were good for letting other people down. But he wanted to be fair to his son. He wanted his son to at least have the chance to spend time with his family_. _After all they were Parkers family too, whether he liked it or not. And he didn't want to be that parent that was hated by his teenage kid because he made the decision about family for him. It just didn't seem fair, even if his motives were pure, it didn't seem fair.

When he would finally conclude that he had made the right decision he'd lose sleep over it and go back on his decision only to decide the other way again soon after.

His mom.

His _mother. _Still after all these years used his father who was dead now as an excuse to drink the way she did. Last year she promised she would come to Parker's birthday party – never did. And Jared…. well, Jared is Jared. And he should be lucky that he already established a bond with his son. The fact that Parker always asks to go visit cool Uncle Jared is the only reason Jared ever sees him. Jared is selfish and it's only a matter of time before that selfishness hurts his son.

But even still they are people that he loves. People that he cannot help but to love, protect fiercely, and forgive endlessly.

The battle in him finally ended when he truly made a final decision which was to take Parker back home to Philadelphia and they would spend time with his mom at least. No one else had to be involved. It was a good first step. He had called his mom and told her that he would be coming up there soon to visit and that she needed to sober up, get the alcohol out of the house because Parker would be with him. . He'd grown up with an alcoholic. He knew what it was like and he never ever wanted Parker to be around that – even if for the shortest of time. She nearly sobbed at the mention of her grandson because she knew what a big deal it was that Booth was going to bring him around. Booth was honestly touched at his mother's reaction but he was still hesitant, and he made it very clear that if he so much as _thought_ he smelled the smallest amount of gin or anything else on her breath, even in a dream while they were there, they were gone. Parker forever – or until he was old enough to make his own decisions.

Brennan was quiet while she waited for a response. She could tell that she had struck a raw nerve but she still wanted him to respond. She didn't know much about Booth's family but from the information Booth had shared with her over the years, it wasn't the greatest family. Booth did not have the ideal upbringing. She had wondered why he would suddenly decide to take his son on vacation to a place he never seemed to want to even talk about. She'd questioned him once and gotten nowhere fast.

Booth closed the dresser drawer and headed towards the bathroom attached to his room. "Yeah, I'm sure it'll be great for everyone." His voice escaped with an obvious lack of enthusiasm and he prayed that she wouldn't hear him or the uncertainty that was his tone but his voice stubbornly filled the small confines of his tiny bathroom quickly and easily bellowed out to his bedroom where Bones was. The last thing he wanted was to discuss his feelings about this trip. He started to search through his mirrored medicine cabinet determined to remain focused on packing hoping she wouldn't push him.

She had heard him but missed his tone as she was too transfixed on her own emotions that had suddenly taken her by surprise. "I'm sure it will be a lovely time." She muttered quietly, almost to herself, as she looked down at his now perfectly packed suitcase. She felt that familiar jolt of _something_ that she still wasn't used to feeling even after all these years of being this close to Booth. It was a stabbing sensation that worked its way from the center of her chest and climbed up her throat nearly robbing her ability to breathe. She'd been feeling this even more consistently ever since he told her that he was going to take a trip to see his mom for a couple of weeks. She was confused about the decision but she was happy for him. He certainly needed the break. He hadn't been himself lately. He was always ready to argue – not playfully either. He seemed to be more negative than usual which was not Booth-like at all. He'd been warned several times at work for being overly aggressive with suspects. It worried her and she even wondered at some point if maybe it was _her_ that was making him that way. It was quite obvious that _something_ was wrong but every time she thought he was going to discuss it with her, every time she asked him to discuss it with her he would just say that he'd be ok, that'd he'd get over it. That he was sorry. That _they'd_ be ok. And she never questioned him further because she never, ever doubted those words – _we'll be ok_ – she never doubted them and she never would. And now her mind and her rational thinking were catching up to her heart and her sometimes rebellious feelings. She was going to miss him. She felt it. Had been _really_ feeling it the last few days.

He returned from the bathroom and tossed his razor and an unopened toothbrush onto the bed. The sound yanked her from her thoughts. She looked up at him with hesitant eyes and a look of deep rooted confusion over something that she was keeping inside with everything she had. Booth recognized the change in her demeanor immediately. He had recognized it the very first time it happened a few days ago. He'd felt it too. He was going to miss the hell out of her and he knew that she was going to miss him too. And he knew that she'd been struggling with the meaning of that. It wasn't like when a co-worker went on vacation or even when a friend when on vacation. She was going to miss him in a _different_ way, the same way he was going to miss her. It felt wrong to leave her. It felt wrong to go anywhere without her. It felt like they should have planned this together where she was involved and she was actually going with him.

But that was ridiculous.

They weren't together.

He couldn't just ask her to come on vacation to his mother's house with him…. no matter how many times he rehearsed the words in his head and went over every possible response she could give. But even with all the unspoken emotions and the unasked questions they at least recognized that there was _something_ there. They weren't quite ready to speak of it just yet but they were definitely getting too old and too tired to pretend like it didn't exist.

"I'm going to miss you." Her eyes drew the words from him easily.

There was always a moment of eardrum bursting silence right after he said anything that pushed beyond the line of professionalism, whether it was way past or just a toe over. And this time was no exception. She took his words, tossed them around in her head, dissected them, and stored them in a reserved space in the back of her mind to be analyzed further later.

"I'm going to miss you too, Booth."

These days she wasn't stating her feelings as facts like she used to. If this were even only a year ago she would be telling him that she would miss him and it would sound as though she was reading it off of a cue card.

Detached. For purposes of keeping ones heart safe.

But she had evolved. And it pleased even her to hear the words coming from her own mouth. It was an expression of_ feeling_, not a statement of fact.

It touched him. "Come here." He motioned her over with a nod of his head. She forced a smile even though she didn't feel like smiling as she walked over to him. Before she knew it he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against his chest. She put her arms around him loosely and pressed her face to his shoulder. "Please be safe. Please don't run after suspects. Stay in the car when you're asked to stay in the car." He pushed her away from him a bit so he could look at her while he spoke. "Do not go with Agent Kohler to interview suspects on _their_ grounds, ok? Only assist him if the suspect is being brought in. Just… try to stay out of trouble for a few weeks, ok?" He smiled but it did nothing to blend out the seriousness in his eyes, his voice.

"Perhaps you could just stay and then I wouldn't have all of these ridiculous rules, or a new agent, to follow." She responded.

He knew she wasn't being serious but if she would have asked him to seriously stay, for whatever reason, he wouldn't have thought twice about cancelling the trip. He'd stay if she asked him to. And on that thought he forced his arms to fall away from her. They continued to stand close.

"If you need anything call me, ok?" She nodded. "Even if you don't need anything, call me anyway."

He rubbed his hand up and down her upper arm quickly and gave it a light squeeze. She took a few steps backwards. "I should be getting home now."

"Yeah, you should. And you should actually see about resting tonight. None of that staying up all night business. You need your rest. It's been a long day."

"Don't worry Booth. I'll rest. I promise."

She picked her bag up from his bed and placed it over her shoulder.

"And perhaps _you_ should use this vacation as an opportunity to learn something new, like…say… folding clothes." She smiled.

He laughed at her little dig. "Nice one Bones. But seriously…thank you for the help tonight. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome. Walk me out?"

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Her car door was open and she was standing between it and her car. He was standing on the other side of her door, leaning over the top of it. "Look Bones, if you need me to come back early or anything, I can. I will."

"For the last time…. _don't worry_, Booth. Enjoy your time off. Enjoy your family. You'll be back in a few weeks and we'll pick up right from where we left off."

Her words were deeper to him than she probably intended them to be. "I really want to." There was no way for her to miss the emotion that was prominent in his words and even more so in his expression. "We will, Booth. It's only for a few weeks, right?" Her voice was low and soft and maybe even hinted towards a bit of vulnerability.

He looked down at the pavement for a quick second and then back up to her. "Yeah." He was trying to put a lid on his emotions that were quickly coming to a boiling point. "I'll call you when I get there." He promised, trying to end it before something was said that had the potential to change everything between them, quite possibly for the worst. He couldn't take the chance now. For many reasons: the main one was simply practicality. He was leaving for Philly in the morning.

"Ok. Bye Booth." She waved her hand at him before she ducked into her car and closed the door.

"Bye." He waved back at her and watched as she ducked into her Prius and drove off.

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**So this is just the beginning of quite a long story that I have almost completely written. This is the big one for me. The story I lost sleep over, cried over, cussed at but mostly felt completely satisfied over. Hope you liked the first chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So glad people seem to be interested in this story! Thanks so much for giving it a chance. **

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**Inherently: Chapter 2**

**Saturday June 19****th**** 7:07 AM**

The front door was open but the screen door was closed and locked. Booth rapped his knuckles against the rickety metal of the door frame. Before anyone had the chance to answer he was cupping the sides of his face and leaning closer to the screen to get a better look inside. "Hellooooo." A moment later he heard his son's voice yelling something that he couldn't quite make out and Rebecca yelling at him not to run in the house. He stepped back right before his son came crashing through the door. Parker wrapped his arms around Booth's thigh throwing him off balance.

"Whoa, Bub. Be careful. You're gonna take me out one of these days."

He reached down and gathered his son in his arms and lifted him with a grunt. Parker wrapped an arm around his father's neck and held on. "I'm already stronger than all the kids that were in my class. Except Douglas. He was supposed to be in fourth grade so he's like… _really_ strong. But since I'm going to be in fourth grade after summer I think I'm going to get even stronger." He explained animatedly.

Rebecca came around the corner and up to the other side of the door. "Parker Booth you know better than to run to the door and answer it before I can get there. Do you _want_ to get kidnapped?"

The young boy pouted. An exact replica of the older Booth's pouting face. "I knew it was Dad."

"Hey, you need to listen to your mom ok? It doesn't matter if you know who's at the door. You wait for your mom to tell you it's ok to answer it. Even if you know it's me. She just wants to make sure you're always safe, Park."

"Okaaaay." He reluctantly agreed and started to push against his father, a sign that he was ready to be put down. Booth let Parker slide down his body and his sneaker clad feet were stable on the ground for only a second before he was running back into the house. "I'll be right back. I'm gonna bring my Nintendo DS!" And he was gone. "Walk, please!" Rebecca yelled after him. She turned her attention back to Booth and sighed, she wasn't trying to hide her exhaustion in the least bit. She was definitely looking forward to a break. "Do you want to come in?" She offered.

Booth shook his head. "Nah, I'm good. I don't want to stay too long. I want to get there as early as I can."

She nodded. "Of course." She pushed the door open and slipped out onto her front porch clutching her cup of coffee close to her chest as she did so. She took a careful sip of the steaming java and grimaced slightly after swallowing.

"So how's Brian?" Booth asked behind dark sunglasses.

"It's Ryan, Seeley. And he's fine." She gave him a look. "Thanks so much for asking." She finished sarcastically.

Booth couldn't help the guilty grin that spread across his face. He quickly removed his hands from his pockets and put them up in the air in defense against her accusatory tone. "What?" He laughed. "I forgot the guys name." She looked skeptical. "I'm glad he's good." He tried to add seriously. "Ryan." He said his name quietly to himself as if storing it to memory. "I'm glad _Ryan _is doing well."

"I bet." She shook her head but smiled too.

Parker came running back with a backpack on his back. A duffle bag dragging behind him and a Nintendo DS in his free hand. Rebecca opened the screen door for him and he stepped back out onto the porch. "You ready to go?" Booth asked his son.

"Parker did you remember your toothbrush?"

"Yes mom. You told me like a million times."

"And your teddy?"

"No mom, I'm not bringing him, ok? I'm not a baby."

"Fine…fine…." Rebecca answered as she shared a knowing look with Booth.

Parker moved to stand next to his father's side and began to play with his Nintendo.

"Hey, whatever he forgot which I know it'll be something if not a few things, just pick up for him and I'll pay you back when you get back into town."

Booth's face tightened immediately. "Please Bec, you're not paying me back for things I buy my own son. That's just not going to happen, ok?"

"Ok, fine, whatever. I was just putting it out there. No need to get testy."

Booth sighed in frustration. "Just – we'll be fine. Ok? I'll make sure he has everything he needs. I'm his dad, it's my job to buy him things too."

"I know that Seeley, I wasn't trying to –"

Parker looked up from his game. His little head bent all the way back so he could see his parents' faces. "Can you guys pleeeease stop fighting?" Then he looked only at his father. "Dad let's go!"

"He'll be fine, Becca. You know I'll make sure he has everything he needs and you know that he'll be completely safe."

Her voice softened. "I know, Seeley."

"I'll let you know when we get there." He said picking up Parkers duffle bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Ok be safe guys and have fun." She bent down and kissed her son on the forehead. "Call me every night, all right?" She reminded Parker once more and he nodded before running off and following his father to the truck.

"Shotgun!" Parker yelled, claiming the front seat as his.

"I don't think so. This is a long trip, Bub. Backseat it is."

"Aw man…"

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**Saturday June 19****th**** 9:52 AM**

Parker had just woken from his second nap of the trip when Booth glanced in the rearview mirror. He watched his son rub his eyes sleepily and yawn a few times. When he thought Parker was coherent enough, he turned the radio down to speak. "Hey, Park?"

"Hmmm." He groaned still too tired to respond with an actual word or words.

"Listen, grandma hasn't seen you in a long time so she will probably be _really_ excited to see you." He began to explain. He paused to search for his next words. "I know that you don't know her that well but she does love you very much and she'll want to hug and kiss you." He stopped and waited for a reaction as he glanced back and forth from the road to the rear view mirror.

Nothing.

"So if it feels, you know, weird. Or if you don't want her to hug and kiss you yet, that's ok. You can tell her. Or you can tell me and I can tell her. If you want. Ok?" Again he waited for a response while he glanced back and forth from the road to the mirror.

Parker's eyes shifted slowly from looking out of the window to looking at his father in the mirror. "Ok, dad."

Booth let out a sigh of relief. "Ok." He said, glad that he got a simple response. He turned the radio back up.

Ten minutes later Booth was pulling into his old neighborhood. He slowed and then stopped at the stop sign that no one ever stopped at. He took a deep breath. He was ok. He pressed his foot on the accelerator hesitantly and drove up the street a little further. He saw his mom's house on the right. One large tree took over much of the tiny yard. She had flowers and potted plants scattered around, most were dying. He pulled up next to the curb and parked. He wondered if she was waiting, looking out of a window. He watched the door for a minute to see if she would come out and meet them and after nothing happened he turned the truck off. Another breath. He was still ok. He glanced at the house across the street. The old black Dodge Neon was parked in front of it like it had always been around this time for twenty odd years now. He chuckled to himself. Some people will never leave no matter how bad it gets. He turned in his seat a little and looked at the immaculate yard of the house next to his mom's. Mr. Bill. Old Mr. Bill was still going strong. He wasn't the friendliest old man but he got along with Booth just fine. Always had.

"Dad?" Parker's tender, curious voice cut into Booth's scattered thoughts. He turned around in his seat to look at his son. "We're here, Park." Parkers face lit up. "Yes! Finally!" He began to unbuckle his seat belt. "Wait, wait, wait..." Booth stopped his son. Parker looked up at Booth confused. "Just….wait. I'm going to get out first and then I'll come and get you out."

He sulked. "Dad! I can get out myself. I don't need your help."

"I know you don't _need it_." Booth mimicked his son. "Just – wait. Ok?"

"Ok." Parker gave in reluctantly and kept still.

Booth turned back around in his own seat and after a deep cleansing breath unbuckled his belt and opened his door quickly. He was fast as he got out and walked around to the side of the truck that was away from the street. He took his phone out of the front pocket of his jeans and dialed Rebecca. He held his phone against his ear as he unbuckled Parkers belt, picked him up and pulled him out of the truck. He held Parker close to his chest as he started to walk towards the house. He reached the gate and opened it, at the same time Rebecca answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey Bec, it's me. We're here."

He was walking up the short pathway towards the front door.

"Dad, let me walk. I can walk! You don't have to carry me!"

"Hush, Park." A frustrated Booth answered. "Bec?"

"Everything ok, Seeley?"

"Yeah, yeah, hold on."

Booth set Parker down on the ground gingerly once they were at the front door of his mom's house. He gave him the phone. "Speak to your mom."

"Hi Mom. Yes, I'm fine. Ok. Ok. Ok. _Okaaaay_! Love you too. Bye." He handed the phone back to his dad.

"I'll have him give you a call later tonight."

"Ok, Seel, talk you to later."

"Later."

He flipped his phone closed and shoved it back into his pocket. He grabbed his son's hand. "Ready?"

"What about our stuff?" The boy asked looking back at the parked truck. "We'll come back out for it later." With the hand that wasn't attached to his son, he knocked three times, sniffed, coughed and waited.

"Dad?"

"Yeah, Bub?"

"You're hurting my hand."

"Oh, right, sorry." He dropped Parker's hand and crossed his arms over his chest instead. He slipped one hand out from under his armpit to adjust his sunglasses and then quickly slipped his hand back into place under his arm.

After a minute locks were quickly being opened on the other side and then finally the weathered front door opened with a familiar creak and an equally weathered woman appeared with a warm smile on the other side. Her eyes gleamed with happiness contradicting the dark circles that made a home under her eyes. Her long brown hair that was gray at the roots hung close to her face. "Oh my goodness! Son… look at you!" She reached out and up as Booth was significantly taller than his mother and put a tender hand on the side of his face. Booth pulled his sunglasses off and then put his own hand over hers. "I've missed you so much Seeley." The glint in her eyes told him that she must really have missed him. And even after everything. Even _with_ everything. He missed her too. A moment was shared between mother and son before Parker caught her eye. She looked down at him. He was staying very close to his father. "Oh, Parker…." She knelt down to his level. "You _are_ your father." She said in awe as her eyes roamed over his features. "Come here." She pulled Parker in for a hug and Parker hugged her back letting go of some of his hesitancy.

"Say hello Parker." Booth encouraged.

Parker pulled out of the hug. "Hello." His young raspy voice uttered to the strange woman who looked oddly familiar to him.

"I haven't seen you since you were a little baby. You're so big now….I…I… cannot _believe_ how big you are." She gave him one more look over and stood back up to her full height. "Come in, please. I made a fresh batch of cookies if you guys are hungry. I know it's early but it's really never too early for cookies in this house." She whispered more to Parker.

Parker's eyes lit up. "I'm starving!" He moved in front of his father and followed his grandmother into the house. Booth stepped into what was once his home and closed the door behind him. He was ok.

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"Just like I remember it, Mom. Nothing's changed. " Booth glanced around wall to wall taking in the flood of memories that came with each familiar item he spotted. He turned in place with his hands in his pockets noting specific art work that had been in the same spot since he'd seen it last. He also took in the smells that he once recognized as home. He wanted to feel comforted by them. It was natural to feel comforted by them but another part of him fought that feeling. There were still walls that comfort was unable to penetrate. He, himself could not even move those walls even if he wanted to. He walked up to a book shelf in one of the corners of the living room and smiled to himself when he saw the two medium sized picture frames that held Jared and his senior pictures. He let the memories hold is attention for a moment before his focus finally shifted to a shelf just below. There sat a medium sized trophy – wooden base, a dusty gold football at the top. Before he could think his hands were coming out of his pockets and his fingers were tingling to touch the item he once cherished more than anything else in his life. He picked it up and held it. Football was everything then. It was his outlet. It was…..life. He blinked away tears and blew. Tiny dust particles were expelled into the air around him. He ran his thumb delicately over the engraved words on the plaque.

_Central Valley High School Varsity Football_

_MVP, 1993_

_Seeley J. Booth_

His mom's voice came softly from just behind him. "Your MVP trophy from junior year."

He turned his head to look back at her for a second and turned right back to the memory in his hand. "There are a lot of not so good memories but the few good ones are _really_ good ones." He swallowed hard as he set the trophy back onto the shelf with reverence.

She smiled warmly, almost sadly. "You sure loved your football son."

He sniffed and took a step back letting go of those feelings, a detached looked set on his face. "Yep, well….wasn't meant to be, right?" His hands went back into his pockets.

Marianne placed a soothing hand on his shoulder and rubbed gently. "Why don't you come have a seat and eat a few cookies with us? Let's talk." Booth stood silently for a moment staring at what used to be. After a deep breath was released he turned and followed his mom into the kitchen.

Parker looked up at his father from the table. "Dad! These cookies are so good! Try some!"

Booth chuckled. "I know Bub, I used to eat them all the time. I know they're good." He grabbed one off of Parkers plate and sat down at the table.

Marianne went to the cabinet over the sink and pulled out another glass. "I'm so glad you were able to make it Seeley. I've missed you so much and I've been eager to spend time with my grandson." She went over to the refrigerator, took the milk out and began to pour a glass for Booth. He didn't want to get into the details of exactly why they had not been around much in front of Parker. "I know mom. I know…" He took the glass of milk that was set in front of him. "We're here now. And we're planning on having a great time." He took another bite of cookie and then a sip of milk. "Right, Park?"

"That's right! Hey, do you think Uncle Jared will visit too?" Parker asked before shoving another cookie into his mouth.

"I don't know buddy…Uncle Jared might be-"

"Actually Seeley," His mom interrupted. She sat in one of the seats on the other side of the table, "he's in town. Has been for a while now."

Booth felt his stomach flip – the feeling that ran through him was not a good feeling and he inwardly winced with the knowledge that his gut was always right. Damn his gut to hell. He didn't want to know. He didn't want to care. He tried to shake the look of horror from his face. "He never told me he was coming here. Why is he here?" He tried to ask as nonchalant as possible. But as much effort as he tried to put into seeming like he didn't care when he asked – it didn't translate well. His mom read him like a book. She _was_ his mother after all. No hiding from her. Even if it had been years since they'd seen each other. She always knew what was going on in his mind, in his heart.

"Well, he said he needed to take a break from life and wanted to spend some time catching up with old friends." She answered simply.

They both knew _that_ was a joke. Almost laughable. He debated with himself whether or not he was going to let Jared being in town and not really know the _real_ reason why bother him. He was already racking his brain with so many questions. What was Jared up to? Why would he come back to this place? A place he hadn't even driven through, let alone visited, in years, at least as far as he knew. He looked at his son's face. No, he couldn't do that. He needed this to be a good time for his kid. And it wouldn't be a good time if he was focused on his brother instead of his son. "Oh, alright then." Was his overly simple response.

"So does that mean we can see him?" Parker asked his tone bursting with hope. Things were never easy were they? "We'll see." Booth responded quickly.

"Hey, Parker. Why don't you have a look out back there? I have something out there that you might enjoy."

Parker pushed back in his chair and stood up. He walked over to the back door that was in the kitchen and stood on his tip toes to look out of the square four pane window in the center of the door. "Oh wow!" His face lit up. "A skateboard!" He reached for the knob and started to head out.

"Hold on Park." Booth held out his hand towards his son to stop him. "Mom, did you buy that for him?" He asked, his arm still hanging between his son and the door.

"Of course I did! You and your brother loved those things when you were kids. Figured Parker might. There's a helmet out there to. If it doesn't fit we can take it back and get another one that does."

Booth seemed to be shuffling thoughts around his mind for a minute. He sighed deeply. "Ok…ok… but Parker please…._please_… be careful. God knows your mom will have my head if you go back to her with so much as a scratch."

"Thanks Dad!" And he was out the door.

Marianne sat back more comfortably in her chair and looked hard at her son, which in turn, made Booth a little uncomfortable. He wondered where she would take the conversation. He wasn't ready to discuss anything that would dredge up negative feelings that he had about things…about _her_. He didn't think she was ready for it either. Once that gate was open it would take an act of God to close it. He wouldn't be able to give it in small doses. He wouldn't be able to sugar coat anything and he would not stop until she _really_ understood how he felt.

No. Now was not a good time.

"So…. You and Bec never worked it out, huh?"

As uncomfortable as he _usually_ felt discussing this topic with anyone else, given the situation, it wasn't so bad. He responded without meeting her eyes. "Nah, it wasn't working. We were never meant to be more than friends. And even _that's_ pushing it most times." He turned his head to look out of the window as his son began to test the board with one foot on and the other firmly rooted to the ground. He rolled it back and forth, his tongue hanging out of his mouth while a look of fierce concentration dominated his young face. "Helmet, Parker!" Booth hollered. Parker looked up and grabbed the helmet from the table on the patio and began to put it on.

"Rebecca, she's a great mom though." He continued.

"Oh, I'm sure, hun. The times I've talked to her she seemed very sweet."

Booth took another long sip of his milk.

"So is there anyone special in your life now?"

"Not really." He responded quickly. He didn't let go of the glass. Instead he ran his finger down it making a line through the condensation.

"Seeley, we may not have stayed very close throughout your adult life but I am your mother and I know when you're lying to me." He looked up at her to see her smiling. It shook him a little bit seeing her smile. Sure, he looked just like his father. _But his smile_. _His_ smile was definitely from his mother and now looking at her he was reminded that the woman beside him was indeed _his mother – _not only his alcoholic motherbut she was also another version at one point in his mostly painful past_._ The only version he wanted to remember. A wave of warmth passed through him as a few unsolicited memories came to life in his head. His mom was right; he did have a skateboard when he was younger. He had fallen down skating on it a few times but this one time it was really bad, he'd managed to bust his knee open. He remembered how his mother was so gentle and loving with him as she helped him up and carried him to the house. He could never remember the pain looking back. All he could ever remember was his mom's gentle touch, her reassuring smile (his smile) and her warm vanilla perfume that seemed to make all bad things go away – at least for a short time.

"Well, let's just say that _girlfriend_ isn't quite the accurate label but she's definitely special." He said smiling back.

Marianne nodded in acceptance of his answer.

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**Thanks for reading! **


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wanted to mention to you guys that this takes place in 2010. And also, some of Booth's past and family dynamic is not completely canon. **

**I don't know anything about the inner workings of the Navy…and I also don't know exactly what kind of money Jared would have made in the Navy…but let's just assume that fifteen grand is a lot for him right now for the sake of the story.**

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**Inherently: Chapter 3**

**Sunday June 20****th**** 12:15 AM**

Travis Callahan sat on the old, tattered, brown corduroy couch. He lifted his legs –on the ends of which were thick black faux leather biker boots covering his feet. He crossed his ankles before he dropped his heels heavily onto an unstable coffee table. Travis' red hair was tied back with loose strands hanging out around his pale, unworried face, the exact opposite of Jared who was sitting beside him. Jared's knee bounced up and down furiously as he focused in on a random spot on the stained carpet.

"Can't you just ask your mom for the money?"

Jared's knee stilled immediately as he shot Travis an incredulous glare. "No, Trav, I can't. Do you really think my mom has a spare fifteen grand just lying around?"

"Well I think it's worth asking don't you?"

Jared's frustration had been climbing and it was nearing its height limit. He needed the money and he needed it now. And Travis' ridiculous ideas where not helping in the least. "I cannot ask my mother, alright? I need to figure something else out." He reiterated in a firm tone. Travis looked thoughtful for a moment, his ocean blue eyes taking on a curious glint. "How the hell did you even get mixed up with J and his crew? Are you pushing for him?" His voice took on an intrigued tone.

Jared quickly stood up from the couch. Travis moved his legs down from the coffee table so that his friend could pass through.

Jared began to pace.

Travis looked on at his friend treading eagerly back and forth. "What did you do?" He asked again more seriously this time.

Jared stopped moving and looked his friend in the eye. For the briefest moment Jared thought about telling him exactly what it was that he did. Travis knew a little bit of what was going on but he didn't know everything. He didn't want Travis to know. He didn't want anyone to know. He just wanted to pay this guy and move on with his life. He shook his head rattling his thoughts loose before answering. "It doesn't even matter now. All I know is that I need fifteen grand by the end of the month or I'm dead, Travis. Ok?" He began pacing again, running a hand over his hair which he had buzzed short. A habit since being in the Navy.

"What about your brother? What about Seeley?"

Jared was trying to be patient with his best friend. His best friend since childhood but this was just getting crazy. His face didn't hide the fact that his patience was quickly slipping away from him either. He looked down at Travis still sitting comfortably on the coach. "Yeah, let me just ask my brother, the FBI Agent, to bail me out of this extremely illegal bind that I'm in."

"He's helped you out in other pretty shitty situations before. And if I remember correctly a lot of those involved you breaking the law, Jared."

Jared sighed and flopped back down onto the couch, wincing as he did because his side was still sore and bruised from his little run it with J. "Nothing this serious, man. This is something Seel would never go for." He rested his head against the back of the couch. "Let him live his perfect life in D.C." He mumbled more to himself than to Travis.

"Jared….. Seeley isn't in D.C."

Jared turned his head, the look of confusion on his face asked the question for him and he waited for an explanation.

"Yeah, I ran into Schuster earlier. Says he got a text from your bro. He's s at your mom's house with his kid."

**Sunday June 20****th ****9:30 AM**

Sounds of dishes clanging and cabinet doors being open and closed pulled Booth out of his sleep, surprisingly, peacefully. He stretched in the small bed and laid there for a moment staring up at the old atrocious popcorn ceiling that he always hated. He was sleeping in the "guest room" which used to be Jared's old room. Booth's old room was turned into his mother's crafting room, apparently. When he peeked in there the night before to see what had been done to his old domain he could tell that the room hadn't been used in years. It was dusty and it even _smelled_ like dust. And moth balls. The knitting and scrapbooking magazines looked like they'd lost all the vibrant color that they were originally printed with. There were unopened packages of knitting supplies, construction paper, ribbons, and yarn. It was as if he had walked into an abandoned Michaels. It was actually pretty damn sad. And he knew why.

Drinking.

Her drinking had kept her from doing the things that she once loved to do.

Parkers laugh cut sharply through Booth's train of thought. He smiled at the sound. Maybe just being here with his mom was all she needed to recover. Maybe just he and Parker was all she needed to push far enough away from her demons so she could actually walk away from them for good. But he couldn't believe that without also believing that maybe _he_ was to blame for his mothers continued struggle with alcohol. He knew that he didn't cause the problem but he could be the reason she had dragged it out all these years. He imagined how he would feel if the people he loved suddenly decided to stop being a part of his life because of his gambling problem. He imagined how he would have felt if Rebecca had decided that she and Parker were going to cut themselves out of his life because of it. Or if Pops had told him he didn't want to be around him because of it.

He suddenly felt guilty.

But he _shouldn't_ feel guilty. This wasn't his problem. He wasn't responsible for it. He had enough problems and enough to be responsible for. He'd done enough blaming himself with his father and he sure wasn't going to add his mother to that equation. He worked too hard to forgive himself for being cussed at and beaten like a dog on a near daily basis. His mom couldn't be his fault too.

At least, he could tell himself that.

He shifted in bed. The bed was a lot smaller than he remembered. It was a twin and it was a little less than accommodating for a full grown man and his son, but he and Parker would have to make due until he was able to pick up an air mattress of some type. He heard Parker laugh again and once more the sound warmed him. He was thinking too much. He didn't want to venture down those dark roads just yet. They had just gotten there and so far, things had been good. Granted, it had only been one day but he was happy that his mother seemed to be sincere in her promise to not drink while they were there and he was relieved that Parker seemed to take to her immediately. He hoped beyond all hope that things continued on this way – but deep down he knew that something…._something_… would happen. Something would go wrong. It was just how his world worked.

He pulled the thin throw from his body and got out of bed. He pulled on a pair of black basketball shorts and slipped on a white t-shirt.

.

**.**

.

"Yeah, it's what my dad calls her." Parker answered enthusiastically while still managing to chew his food.

"Bones?" Marianne questioned from the sink as she washed the mixing bowl of the remnants of homemade waffle batter.

"Yeah, it's cause she works with bones and stuff. She puts dead people back together so her and my dad can figure out who killed 'em. It's really awesome."

"So, this…._Bones_…. is _not_ your dad's girlfriend?" She questioned the boy further.

Parker made a face. His little eyebrows' coming together in the center of his forehead as he answered the question seriously. "Well, I don't know." He admitted. "I mean, they don't kiss or hold hands so I don't think so." He finally concluded.

"I see…" Marianne finished drying the mixing bowl and placed it back underneath the sink.

Booth came bounding down the stairs and around the corner. He stood behind Parker with his hands on the back of the chair he was sitting in. His mom was at the kitchen sink still cleaning up from breakfast. Parker only looked back at Booth for a brief moment to acknowledge him and quickly went back to his food. Booth shuffled Parkers hair around his head in a teasing manner.

"Good morning."

"Oh, good morning, son." Marianne smiled brightly at him as she took in his glassy eyes and his ruffled hair that was sticking up in odd places. "Looks like you slept well." She commented.

"I did, Mom, thanks."

"Good, good. Come sit and eat some breakfast. I made my homemade waffles that you and Jared use to love when you were kids."

Booth nodded and made his way around the table and sat down. His mother placed a plate of waffles in front of him along with a tall glass of milk. He felt like a kid again. When his dad was still around, his mom used to wait until he was up and out of the house before she would call him and Jared down for breakfast. She used to tell them to pretend to be asleep until he left for work. The less they were around him the less likely he was to get agitated with them. She tried. He could never say that she didn't try.

"Did you eat, Mom?"

"I'll eat later once you boys have finished." She sat down with her glass of milk and Booth began to pour syrup over his waffles. "So Parker here was just discussing this Bones ladyfriend of yours."

Booth glanced at Parker and gave him a look that went completely unnoticed by the boy who was collecting syrup on his finger by gliding it over his plate. He would then bring his finger to his mouth and lick the syrup from his finger.

"Yes, Bones is my partner. She and Parker are pretty close."

She eyed her son for a moment before speaking.

"And how 'bout you and Bones. You two pretty close too?"

Booth couldn't help but to chuckle awkwardly. "Well we've been partners for some time now. We spend nearly every waking moment with each other. It's hard to _not_ be close."

Marianne followed up quickly without giving Booth time to think on what he had just said. "And is this that special person you referred to yesterday?"

Booth's stammering was interrupted by the distinct sound of the front door opening and closing. Everyone's attention turned towards the noise that was coming from the living room. Footsteps were making their way across the old creaky hardwood floors.

A voice. "Mom?"

All three recognized the voice immediately. Parker's eyes grew wide. Marianne dried her hands on the dish towel before making her way towards the living room. Booth took on a placid demeanor as he continued eating his breakfast trying to decide on how he should react once he saw his brother under his mother's roof for the first time in years.

Marianne met Jared right outside of the door way to the kitchen. She smiled at her younger son and stood on her tip toes to kiss him on the cheek. "Hi, son." He bent down so he could hug her. "Hi, mom. Heard Seeley's here." He said pulling out of their embrace.

She nodded as they entered the kitchen together.

"Uncle Jared!" Parker jumped down from his chair and practically sprinted towards his uncle who bent down and as soon as the boy came crashing into his arms, he lifted him up and hugged him. "Parker! Look at you, you're huge!"

"Uncle Jared, are you going to stay here with me and dad, too!"

Jared met Booth's eyes for the first time since coming into the house. Booth stood up. "Hey Jar. Nice to see you." Both walked to the sink and placed his and Parkers dishes next to it. He turned around with his back against the counter and his arms folded against his chest. "What are you in town for?" He questioned his younger brother knowing full well that he probably wouldn't get an honest answer but wanted to humor himself anyway.

"Just wanted to take a break from D.C. Wanted to spend some time with mom, catch up with some old friends." Jared bounced Parker in his arms and went to tickle him. Parker squealed before Jared's fingers even touched his belly.

"That's lovely." Booth deadpanned.

"How about you big brother? What's here that could have possibly dragged you away from Tempe?" He asked trying to sound as though he was joking with a close buddy, but Booth quickly identified the sarcasm soaking through his tone. He chose not to respond the way he really wanted to. "Parker and I are on a little vacation. I thought it would be nice for the three of us to spend some quality time together."

Jared threw Parker in the air before he swung him between his legs and put him back on the ground.

"Hey, do you want to see my new skateboard? Grandma got it for me!"

"Sure bud!"

Parker waved his hand for Jared to follow him and he did. He followed Parker past Booth and out of the back door with exaggerated enthusiasm and closed the door behind him. Booth and Marianne were left in a silent kitchen waiting for the other to say something first.

"This doesn't feel right, mom. I know Jared is up to something."

"Now, Seeley, don't go giving him a hard time. He hasn't brought any trouble to the house and I'm not about to go digging into his life just so I can find a reason to worry." She looked sternly at him for a minute trying to decide if her words really sank home. When she concluded that they had, she continued. "I thought you wanted me to stay _sober_." Booth couldn't tell if she was joking or not. But at the moment he didn't care. He sighed heavily and shook his head as he walked over to the back door and peered out of the window. Jared was showing Parker tricks on the skateboard already. "I just don't trust him, mom. I love him to death. I'd do anything for him but I do not trust him."

Marianne only patted him on the back as she walked by him on her way to the sink to wash the few dishes that were there.

"You didn't finish your waffles." She picked up his plate and turned to show him.

"Guess I lost my appetite." He said while keeping his attention on Jared and Parker on the back patio.

.

.

.

**Sunday June 20****th**** 8:59 PM**

Marianne had practically forced Booth and Jared out of the house. She insisted that they go somewhere to catch up and have some "brother bonding time". Booth understood that it had to be hard on his mother too. Knowing her son well and knowing that his presence made her feel good but at the same time it always brought some kind of trouble. He wondered if this bad energy surrounding Jared would be a trigger for her and cause her to drink. He thought that maybe she was getting him out of the house so she could do just that. But she had insisted that she was excited to spend some quality time with Parker. She had already gotten out the snacks and every Disney tape she could find around the house. She had all of the old classics that he and Jared grew up on. The Aristocats, Winnie the Pooh, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, Robinhood, the list went on. Booth was hesitant to leave his son behind at first but after a little warring with himself he decided that he'd go. He'd leave Parker with his mom and go hang out with Jared for a few hours. He knew that his son would be ok, if he had any inkling that he wouldn't be he would have never gone.

Booth and Jared decided on a small local place for burgers and beer. It was always the small, run down looking places that had the best food. Booth could remember the last time his mom forced them to do something together. It was just before him and his brother had moved out of the house to live with Pops. Their grandfather was coming over to the house to talk with their mom and she had given them fifty bucks to share and the keys to the car and said, "Have fun." For normal kids that would have been a great day, but for him and Jared, it would be the last day that they lived with their mother. It would be the day that his mom finally put her children second and her own selfish ambitions first. That was the day she announced she would no longer be their mother. That was the last day he would see his friends, his team mates. Yes, that was the last time she had forced them to hang out together, before tonight. It was the last day that he would be who he had been for seventeen years because from that day forward he vowed to be better…_different_. But now, all these years later, was he?

Booth began to feel a tingly warmth crackle against the skin of his neck and face. He had to check his thoughts. He could get himself worked up quite easily these days. And he was already agitated about Jared right now; he'd save those other memories for later.

They were sitting at the bar. A few people were around them, not many. The place wasn't usually busy on Sunday nights and Booth was glad about that. He didn't want to run into anyone he knew. He wasn't even sure he wanted to run into anyone at all while he was here. Except for his old friend Derrick Schuster. He wouldn't mind having a real friend around while he was here. Maybe he would even _need_ one.

"So how long you here for?" Jared asked while keeping his attention on the large flat screen TV in the center of the bar that was showing the Phillies and Cardinals game.

Booth shrugged. "I don't know. Few weeks. How 'bout you?"

"Same most likely."

Booth tried to pretend that Jared wasn't up to something. He tried to pretend that he didn't care if he was or if he wasn't really hiding something. He tried to stay out of it, for Parker. He _tried_. But he just couldn't help it. He couldn't sit back and act like it wasn't making him insane knowing that something was going on and not knowing what. "Jesus Christ Jared, let's stop playing this game and why don't you tell me what's really going on? One day you're happy, living the life, traveling around the world, being free and doing whatever you want and the next minute your back here? In Philadelphia? Because being in our old neighborhood is so much better than traveling across the globe, as a single, good looking thirty three year old."

Jared smiled. "You think I'm good looking?"

"I'm serious Jared."

"Ah, come on Seel." Jared whined. "Look… I had already been back in D.C. I stopped traveling. I had been home for awhile. I was home and I wanted to get away from D.C. again. So I did."

"Jared…" Booth warned.

Jared looked at his older brother appalled. "What? I'm not allowed to be in this city? I'm not allowed to visit mom?" He continued to stare Booth down, waiting impatiently for an answer.

"We both know those aren't the reasons you're here. Tell me why you're here. I want to know the truth!" Booth demanded.

"Hey, I'm not some scumbag suspect in your interrogation room!" Jared snapped.

Booth's face as well as his demeanor softened a little. He knew that trying to beat the answer out of Jared wasn't going to get him anywhere. But his feelings about the situation remained the same. "I'm sorry. I'm just… a little on edge. With mom and everything. I've been a little on edge with Parker being here. I just want things to go well. If you say nothing's going on than I have no other choice than to take your word."

Jared nodded and sipped from his Heineken, his attention back on the game.

"So how'd you know that I was in town?" Booth asked curiously.

"Derrick."

He nodded. "Yeah, I shot him a text when I got in. Hoping we could catch up while I'm here." Booth eyed his younger brother. He then decided to go out on a limb. "You could tag along with us if you want to."

Jared scoffed. "What, hang out with you and Derrick Schuster? No way. No thanks." He shook his head.

"Why not? What's wrong with Derrick and me?"

"Nothing, Seel. Nothing's wrong with you or him. It's just… you have your friends, I have mine."

"What are we, twelve?"

Jared ignored the comment.

"Don't tell me you've been spending your free time with Travis' scrawny ass. That guy is such a loser Jar. He's nothing -"

"Seeley stop, ok? I'm a big boy. I don't need you dictating my life. Telling me who I can and can't hang out with. We're adults now. I make my own decisions. And you don't know Travis like _I_ know Travis, ok?"

"Sooo not only are we twelve but we're also girls."

Jared glared at his brother.

"Ok…..ok…." Booth ended it by sipping his own beer and glancing up at the game. They both welcomed the silence that followed, each in their own thoughts about what kind of events would unfold over the next few weeks but neither wanting to take the conversation in that direction again. Jared looked at Booth; he watched in his peripheral as his big brother moaned, cussed and slapped the bar every time a Philly struck out. Jared was a man now and it was a little embarrassing to admit but he always liked being with his brother- regardless of all the shit he always gave him. Hanging out with him made him feel like a normal person, a _good_ person. He wished that the problem he had was something Seeley could make go away for him. But it wasn't. It wasn't that he didn't trust his brother. He didn't trust the situation. He didn't believe that this was something that Seeley could make better for him. Not this time.

Jared tried to wipe the tiredness away from his face as he forced himself to think about something else. "The Phils suck Seel." he teased.

"You're Nats suck, traitor."

Jared laughed.

"I can't believe how tall Parker got, man."

"I know. Kid is like a weed."

"I've missed him." Jared stated sincerely as he looked into his brothers eyes.

"I know." Booth responded. "He really loves you, you know that?" Booth questioned.

"Yeah, I love him too Seeley."

"Then please don't do anything to disappoint him, Jared."

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**Thanks for the continued support guys! I'm super stoked about this story and I can't wait to post the next chapter.**


	4. Chapter 4

**This is a shorter chapter. But on the bright side, you do get some BB dialogue. **

**I also wanted to let you know that my plan is to post two chapters a week - most likely on Thursdays and Fridays. I won't commit to that because everytime I commit to something it FAILS in the worst way... but yeah, that's my "plan"**

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**Inherently: Chapter 4**

**Sunday June 20****th**** 11:42 PM**

Parker was sprawled out on the couch. Aristocats was playing silently, light flickering across the room as the orange cat named O'Malley was trying desperately to swoon the mother cat. There was a note on one of the end tables with what looked like a quickly scribbled message. Booth sat down on the opposite end of the couch next to Parkers feet as softly as he could. He reached for the note and held it under the lamp as he read it. His mom wrote that she had gone up to bed after Parker fell asleep and that he had been on his best behavior while he was gone. He set the note back down on the table and then looked back at Parker. He ran his fingers through his sweaty blonde curls, pushing them away from his forehead. When Parker murmured Booth stopped and moved his hand away, not wanting to wake him. He sat back fully, resting his back against the couch as his thoughts segued to his earlier conversation with Jared. His brother told him several times that nothing was going on but something inside him would not accept that. Something inside Booth was telling him the exact opposite of what Jared had been saying over and over again. And he _knew_ Jared. He knew that he would keep something from him, lie to his face, if he thought it was for the best.

The "best" according the Jared.

And what Jared thought was the best usually ended up being the worst possible resolution to the situation.

Booth was always being sucked into Jared's problems. Jared was like his very own person destructive tornado from hell. Jared would spin his way into his life without any notice at all and suck him up forcefully into whatever problem he had at the moment – and he never had a choice in the matter. He was forced to be there for him. Help me. Save him. And everyone knew that that's how it was. Pops knew, Cam knew, Mom knew, hell even Bones knew now. But they just didn't understand it.

They didn't understand that they weren't just _brothers_.

They were each other's life line at one point. They were each other's anchor. So much more than brothers. Brothers didn't even begin to explain what they were to each other – or what they _used_ to be to each other a long time ago.

But time didn't change the deepest inner workings of Booth. Maybe time changed Jared but it didn't do a damn thing to change the deepest parts of Booth. And honestly, he didn't know whether he loved that or hated it with every fiber of his being.

How could he really not get involved? What if his brother was in danger? Then he most certainly would _have_ to get involved whether he or Jared liked it or not.

Booth looked down at his son sleeping peacefully. He started to thread his fingers through Parkers hair again. He wondered if his son would be the same as him. Booth could already see himself in him, his personality mimicked his own. It was cute now. But he wondered if he'd have the same burdens he had. He prayed that his son didn't latch onto something destructive like addiction. He wondered if Parker would always feel the need to make himself better, to work twice as hard, do twice as good to make up for his shortcomings. Or for the shortcoming of the people that he cared about the most.

Parker moved from his side to his back. Booth once again pulled back from him.

Maybe he was getting ahead of himself. Maybe there wasn't anything to worry about. Jared _could_ be telling the truth. He could really be there to visit his friends, their mother. It wasn't _always_ doom and gloom with his little brother. There was a lot of good in the guy. He had done a lot of good things in the past. And a lot of those good things benefited Booth. He was proud that Jared had decided to make up for the hell that their father caused by being a good man or at least making an effort to be. He wasn't perfect by any means, and maybe he made a lot of really stupid decisions, but Jared's heart … his heart was good. He'd just have to play this out by ear. Jared certainly wasn't going to tell him anything _if_ there was anything to tell. He'd just have to wait it out. That much was obvious now.

Booth fished his cell phone from his front pocket and dialed Bones. He had not talked to her since he had got in early yesterday morning. As complicated as that woman was, he missed the hell out of the simplicity that came with being with her. She was his home…and he missed home. The phone rang several times and his call was about to go to her voicemail but she picked it up just before it did.

"Hello?" She answered, sounding unlike her usual self. He was expecting to hear _Hi, Booth_. The odd way she answered threw him off.

His internal, immovable alarm that destiny had stitched into his very being years ago went off. His body came forward on the couch and he quickly responded. "Bones, it's me. What's wrong?" A small amount of static was heard during the period of silence that followed his question. He didn't prompt her to speak, which he knew that alone would draw an answer from her quicker than if he pestered her to answer him.

"Agent Kohler doesn't understand me. He doesn't understand my logic, my reasoning." She responded tiredly with a still very present irritated flare.

Booth released the breath he was holding and pinched the bridge of his nose as he fell back into the sofa. "What do you mean, Bones?" He whispered. More silence pregnant with bridled emotion, just as it always was between them.

Brennan felt like a child who was incapable of controlling herself. She wanted to cry, she wanted to throw a tantrum. She wanted to march into Cam's office, throw her arms across her chest and refuse to work with the FBI until Booth returned. She _really_ disliked Agent Kohler. But, more than anything she _really_ missed Booth. And every bad thing that she was feeling about everything and everyone else could be rooted back to her missing Booth. It had only been two days and the hollowness she felt wasn't necessarily over the two days he had been gone, but more for the time she knew would have to pass before she saw him again.

"I just cannot understand why I couldn't have been assigned a partner who just…_understands_ _me_. I am very much averse to explaining myself, my methods, my reasoning…" She explained, then in a more sullen manner, "I hate it Booth."

"Well not everyone is like you, Bones. I mean, you're brilliant. The rest of your life is going to be filled with explaining yourself to people. I mean, you have to know that. "

"But Booth, I am significantly smarter than Angela and Jack and I never have to explain anything to them. They never question me. They understand me. _You_ understand me."

He allowed a small chuckle to escape him. "But it took awhile for me to get there, right? We definitely had our share of… misunderstandings… in the beginning." He worded carefully.

"Yes. And it was exhausting. Why would I want to go through that again?"

"It's only temporary, Bones. He's not that bad. Just…give him a little more time and everything will be ok. After another week you won't even want me to come back." He joked.

She remained silent.

He cleared his throat.

"I'm glad that you're finally able to spend time with your family." She stated casually.

Booth knew that Brennan would soon ask questions about how things were going. He started feeling slightly uncomfortable about it before she even had a chance to ask. He shifted on the couch and Parker stirred. Now aggravated that he kept disturbing his son he stood up and walked into the dark of the living room, the floor creaking beneath his feet as he did. He stood next to the shelf that held his MVP trophy from high school. He couldn't see it and maybe that was part of the reason why its presence was amplified. He needed to give her something before she asked something that he didn't want to answer. "My mom and Parker have really hit it off. Parker is having a blast with her." He heard shuffling on the other end of the phone. Maybe she was lying down and she switched the phone from one ear to the other, he guessed.

"That's wonderful, Booth. I'm glad he's having a good time." Her voice was so soft and so cautious. It broke his heart a little bit. In the moment, he couldn't bring himself to respond with words so he simply murmured a sound of agreement in response instead.

"What about you? How are you?" Still soft, still cautious.

"I'm good, Bones. I'm good…" He whispered, turning his back on his and Jared's senior pictures. And that damn trophy.

"Are you sure? It sounds as though – "

"Bones - "

She recognized his impatience. It was easy to recognize now since it had been months of this same scenario. She was even expecting it, becoming used to it. She desperately wanted to know what was wrong. And it wasn't as though he was acting completely different. He was only _slightly_ off. But still _off_. It bothered her even more each time it happened.

A shaky breath escaped her before she asked, "Booth what's wrong with you?"

There. She put it out there. Plain and simple. Clean and sharply cut.

He sighed heavily and closed his eyes hoping that he could somehow disappear in the darkness that he was standing in. He let the rawness of the day take a backseat; he forced the rawness of _himself_ aside. He opened his eyes. "I'm sorry."

Of course he was sorry. Booth was always sorry and he always meant it. But it still never got them anywhere. Her questions were still not answered by the end of his apologies. Her day had already gone so horribly and now Booth was in one of his moods and she was tired of these moods. She was tired of being kept out. He was always forcing her to open up to him. It wasn't fair. It wasn't right. How could she fix what she didn't know was broken? All she wanted to do was fix the problem. She wanted Booth back.

He walked back towards the couch and watched his son as he lay completely still in a deep sleep. He wanted to be in a deep sleep.

"I know I haven't been myself lately, Bones." He waited for a response but she waited for him to go on. Eventually she won out. "Sometimes things in life, things don't go the way you expect. You don't always get the things that you want."

"And what is it that didn't go your way. What is it that's causing you to act like this?"

He looked around the tiny living room he was in. Items from his past that were concealed by the dark still managed to leap out at him. He looked toward the steps and his eyes followed up until it wasn't possible to see any further.

"I can't talk about that right now."

"Why not, Booth?"

"Because I just can't Bones."

"But I can help you," She responded with stubborn eagerness. "Just tell me what it is that you need. Tell me what you want and I'll help you. I'll try my best to help."

He smiled weakly at her earnest. He could never explain himself to Bones. At least not now. Right now, he wasn't even sure if he could explain his own feelings to himself. Who he was in the past had somehow successfully migrated back into who he was in the present. Even before he'd gotten to his mother's house, he' d been struggling with severing himself from those ties that defined him all those years ago – hence making the trip here in the first place. He knew that he loved Brennan but he just didn't know how to tell her that he was confused, unsure, pissed off. He couldn't tell her that he missed his mom, needed to confront her. He couldn't tell her that he felt like he was being sucked back into a life he left so long ago as a teenager. He couldn't tell her that he just wanted to be with her, _really_ be with her, but he couldn't right now because he wasn't sure if he had done a good enough job of washing his hands of his past.

She wouldn't understand.

And when he didn't respond she let up. "Ok. Fine." He could practically see her shaking her head. See the disappointed look on her face and it tore him up.

"We'll be ok, Bones." He promised.

"I know, Booth."

"Listen, I have to get Parker to bed. But I'll call you tomorrow, ok?"

"Goodnight."

"Nite, Bones."

Even after she hung up he held his phone tight against his ear. It somehow made him feel connected to her still, even though she was no longer on the other end. He needed to figure this out.

* * *

**Hey so I think that maybe I'm losing some of your interest in this story… I figured it might because things seem slow right now but don't worry… the story picks up. I'm confident that it'll be good for you (that's what she said) and there will be PLENTY of B/B drama/loving to come. Please leave a review and let me know if you're still reading this story and what you think so far. Thanks, guys. **


	5. Chapter 5

**"********We're going green." **

* * *

**Inherently: Chapter 5**

**Monday June 21****st**** 9:47 AM**

Large, dark clouds were beginning to roll in from the west, setting a quiet, somber mood over the city of brotherly love. Booth tilted his head up to the sky to gauge the threat of the storm that was looming just beyond the city.

The impending storm went unnoticed by Parker, who was desperately trying to perfect an awesome skateboard trick that he looked up on the internet the night before.

"How long do you think it'll take me to learn how to land a kick-flip, dad?" He asked as the wheels to the skateboard landed awkwardly against the cement of the patio. The board fell to its side and Parker's foot slipped off. Booth immediately reached an arm out to keep Parker from falling but Parker quickly regained his balance and placed his foot back in the proper place.

"I really don't understand why she couldn't have just gotten you a puzzle, or a coloring book."

Booth was on edge. He was rarely this uptight when it came to Parker. He knew he had to loosen up but he knew that it would be difficult to do given the circumstances surrounding his brother.

"What?" Parker asked as he attempted another kick flip. His foot once again slipped off the board and the board came crashing onto its side.

"Nothing, Bub. How about we go back inside and see if Grandma is awake yet."

Another thing that put him on edge so early in the day. His mother was _still_ sleeping. She wasn't a late sleeper, unless…

"But dad, I'm so close to landing this!" Parker protested.

"We can come out again later," Booth promised. "I think we both need a break buddy."He pleaded with his son and turned towards the back door hoping that Parker would just be obedient and not fight him on this.

"Oh, alright." Parker undid the straps on his helmet and pulled it off his head leaving the static behind causing his blonde hair to stick straight up before falling slowly back into place. He followed Booth back into the house and into the living room where he flopped down on the couch. Booth reached for the remote and quickly began searching for the cartoons. Satisfied with the very first cartoon he found Booth put the remote down on the couch next to Parker.

"Hey, I'm gonna go check on Grandma. I'll be right back, ok?"

"K, dad." He replied forgetting his frustration as he watched a little bear going on an adventure with his animal friends through the woods.

Booth walked to the landing of the stairs and placed his hand carefully on the banister. It wasn't like his mom to sleep in past eight am.

Unless, of course, she was drinking the night before.

He'd been thinking about it all morning. Thinking about it and trying to let his sane, rational side take the reins of his ever out of control, disobedient mind. When he was outside with Parker he concluded, at first, that maybe she'd just changed since he'd lived with her last. It could be as simple as that. Maybe she enjoyed sleeping in now. People change. Habits can be broken. If there was a God – and more than anything else he believed there was – habits could be broken.

Back when his mom had first left his dad and it was just the three of them living together, she had still been in the habit of waking up early because when she and his dad were still together Joseph had literally beat it into her that she was being a lazy good for nothing wife if she slept in past eight o'clock. And it didn't take more than two or three times for her to never make that mistake again. So even _after_ she had finally _finally_ left him she'd still wake up at the exact same time every morning. Like clockwork. It's like, her body refused to rest. Her subconscious was still in survival mode.

But then there was that first morning.

The very _first_ time she had gotten wasted, _really_ trashed she'd slept past eight. And Booth had gotten worried. And he had gone to check on her to make sure that she was ok.

"_Mom?"_

_He opened the door a little wider, still just as slowly. Some of him entered the room, his head, his shoulder and half of his chest but he kept the rest of him in the hallway hesitant and completely fearful of what he might find or see. He forced himself to man up. He specifically _told_ himself to man up and finally he picked up his eyes and looked in as he continued to straddle the threshold of her bedroom. There she was. Passed out half naked. Underwear on, bra off and breathing incredibly shallow. Booth used his body and slammed the door open with his shoulder so hard that the knob shattered the wall on the other side of the door. _

"_Mom!" He yelled running over to her bed and dropping to his knees, the panic alone nearly stealing his breath from him. His head moved frantically to the left and to the right as he searched for a shirt, a robe, something _anything_. He settled on using the sheet. Yes the sheet would work. His shaky fingers grasped the thin white material and he pulled it over her respectfully. He leaned over her. Watched her face. Tried to figure out what to do. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know where to put his hands – he didn't _know_._

"_Mom." The fear he felt was evident in his voice._

_He shook her lightly. He didn't want to hurt her. _

_He ran his fingers over her ashen cheeks, tracing her prominent cheek bone._

_He didn't understand. He didn't understand. _

_Finally a moment came about that he was able to catch his breath. And when he was able to catch his breath the buzzing in his head became more manageable. He could hear his thoughts… he could think. He needed to think. He began looking around the bedroom and became instantly aware now of everything that was around him. There were pictures strewn everywhere. So many pictures. He looked around the floor of the bedroom, and then concentrated on the area closest to him by his knees. They were all pictures of him and Jared. Every one of them. All of them. Him and Jared. Pictures of him and Jared around a tiny, barely decorated Christmas tree. More pictures of him and Jared visiting the Philadelphia Zoo for the first time. Pictures or him and Jared on Halloween when they dressed up as Vampires that one year. He spotted Jared's baby picture and then a picture of himself holding up his first pet, a turtle, and smiling wide - a tooth missing from his bottom teeth. Now he was even more confused. He didn't understand. _

_He looked back down at his mother. Mascara stained the thin almost translucent skin beneath her eyes. _

_His attention was then caught by something large and reflective sitting on top of her nightstand. It was a glass bottle. A glass bottle of gin. An entire gallon of Seagram's Gin nearly gone all except for a few ounces left sitting at the bottom. _

_Oh no._

_He swallowed hard and got quickly to go to the bathroom just down the hallway. He pulled the shower curtain back and turned the cold water on in the shower. Full blast. He raced back to his mother's room. _

"_Mom….hey….mom," he put a hand under her head and lifted it, "you have to get up for me, ok? I need you to take a shower. Ok?" She moaned and her eyes opened for a second before they rolled to the back of her head. His heart pounded. "Hey!" He screamed. "Mom! Listen to me damnit!" He yelled and shook her again, harder. _

_He slid his hand under the sheet and settled one of his arms just under the back of her knees and his other arm he used to situate her head in the crook of his elbow. He lifted, and nearly fell. Booth was big and strong for fifteen but he had never attempted to carry his mother before, who was not a frail woman at all. He bent his knees this time and he successfully pulled her from her bed. He carried her down the hallway, the white sheet hung off of her lifeless body and dragged across the floor behind Booth's feet. _

_Booth kicked the door open so that he could enter with his mother still in his arms. He quickly made his way to the tub and laid her down inside of it underneath the hard spray of the cold water. _

_After an agonizing moment Marianne began to thrust her head back and forth as the water began to bring her back to consciousness. She opened her mouth to gasp for air and when she did water filled her mouth and she began to cough. Booth didn't say anything only watched, his eyes wide as his mother sat up in the tub, the wet sheet sticking to her skin. Once the coughing fit ended and she caught her breath she finally opened her eyes fully to look at her son who was looking right back at her and just as soaked as she was. _

_She felt ashamed. Embarrassed. Mortified. Shocked. Sad. _

_But still…..grateful. _

_Booth knew his father. He knew exactly how he acted when he was sober, buzzed, completely hammered, or hung-over. He knew all of his stages. He knew them well. But what was new, no, what was completely _foreign_ was seeing his mother in one of these stages. It wasn't right. Later on, more specific feelings would set in but right now all he knew was how fucking right it wasn't. _

_Booth's eyes became bleary with tears and he quickly looked away from his mother's sorrowful gaze and stared at the wall instead. "You drank." His simply stated._

_Marianne didn't respond. She may have wanted to but she didn't know how. _

_He stood up, pulled the shower curtain back and walked out closing the door behind him. Whatever he was feeling, whatever he felt, he wanted to keep confined to that tiny bathroom. He needed to focus now. He had a football game to get ready for. _

Booth forced the still horrifically vivid memory from his thoughts as he began to climb the stairs. His sweaty palm glided up the railing as he ascended. When he reached the landing at the top of the stairs he stood starring at his mother's bedroom door. Pulling himself together he advanced slowly. Finally he was close enough to reach out and touch the door knob. The door wasn't completely shut, it was slightly ajar, so he pushed against it gently and it moved only an inch or two, but it was enough to see inside. He took another deep breath and once again had to push aside that parallel memory. "Man up, Seel." He commanded himself out loud. He brought his head up and looked in.

He saw her lying under her comforter. She had it pulled up and tucked underneath her chin. She breathed easily, not shallow, and without any struggle at all. The noise that came from him after confirming that everything seemed ok couldn't really be considered a sigh, or a breath, it had much more feeling behind it. He wasn't entirely sure why, but he felt like he could cry. He didn't, but he definitely felt like he could.

He was relieved. And the moment of clarity that followed also brought on the realization that he should probably leave. He took a quick step back and bumped into the knob of the door.

"Ouch… shit!" He lifted his elbow immediately and began to examine it.

"Your language, Seeley Booth."

Elbow forgotten he looked over at his mom who was still lying completely still. "Mom. Sorry. I didn't mean to – I was just leaving –" He pointed to the door behind him.

"I'm ok you know."

Booth didn't respond.

She sat up slowly, pulled the comforter away and then got out of bed. She stayed standing next to her bed, wanting to give him space and looked at her son who even though was standing perfectly still was vibrating with emotion. "See, I'm ok." She said again raking her fingers through her gray roots and down through her brown strands.

"I'm sorry, I just. I didn't – wasn't – " He stopped and just shook his head at his loss for words and embarrassment.

Marianne let the moment pass without making things worse for her son. She could tell that he was feeling very uncomfortable as it was. They would have to discuss this, or more specifically, what it was that caused him to feel like he needed to come and check up on her but now probably wasn't a good time do talk about that.

"How'd you and Jared make out last night?"

With the change of subject, Booth's shoulders' fell back into their normal position. He focused on the question instead of focusing on the gigantic elephant that had made its way between them the very first second he walked into the house with his son.

"It went well. We talked, hung out. Nothing special."

Marianne walked around the bed and stopped immediately when she saw Booth retreat one step back towards the door. She ignored it. "I'm glad. All I want is for you boys to be ok with each other. I just want us to be a happy family Seeley."

"Yeah, well, just don't be shocked when that doesn't ever happen."

Marianne recoiled at his words. And she instantly felt dumb for doing so. She really should not be surprised when things like this are said. She had no reason to be upset over it. He was right. Her boys were given hell when all they had ever prayed for day in and day out was a happy loving family. She turned away from Booth and walked towards the window.

"I'm sorry, Mom. It just…. came out. I'm sorry…..really." He apologized realizing his comment.

"No no, don't be sorry Seeley." She said her back still turned to him. "You're right."

.

.

.

.

"So then she says,' but I don't like The Dave Matthews Band. The singer makes weird faces and makes creepy noises when he sings'."

Brennan's expression did not change as Agent Kohler continued into the climax of his story.

"And I'm like, 'are you serious right now? I'm sorry but I can't even date you anymore.' And I take my extra ticket and walk away. I just, leave her there. Can you believe she had the audacity to turn down Dave Matthews Band concert tickets? Floor seats! Un-be-lievable."

"Dr. Brennan…"

"Dr. Brennan!"

"Agent Kohler, your voice has become exceedingly annoying as the day has progressed. I am going to have to request that you remain silent for the duration of trip back to the Jeffersonian." She finally responded.

"Hey, I'm just trying to lighten _your_ mood. Don't be short with me because you miss your partnerboyfriend."He muttered offhandedly.

Brennan slowly pulled her gaze away from the screen of her lap top that she had sitting on her lap, hoping that it would keep the Agent's nonsensical babble to a minimum. "I'm sorry…. My what?"

"What?"

"You said _partnerboyfriend_."

"Oh… I meant partner. My mistake." He said not taking his eyes off the road.

Brennan squinted her eyes at him in utter disbelief. When the obvious weight of her stare became too much for Keith Kohler to bear, he had to turn his head and look at her. "I'm sorry, I just assumed that you two were…. You know. With the specific instructions he left about keeping you safe. And the threat he gave my life if anything happened to you. I just thought that maybe-"

"We're not."

.

.

.

.

The last thing he wanted to hear was that he was right. He didn't want to be right about his family never actually being a family again. She was supposed to argue with him, tell him that he was wrong, tell him that she had made mistakes but that she promised things would be different. As a thirty seven year old man he still just wanted to hear his mother tell him that things _would_ be ok. The fact that she just simply agreed with him, somehow made things worse for him inside.

"Listen, I think it would be a good idea if we found some time to just….talk about things."

She finally turned to face Booth then. Her eyes found his and she tried her best not to cry. "I don't think there's anything I could say to take away the pain that I caused you Seeley. I should have done better, son. I failed you. First, your father and then me. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair and I could only wish that a simple conversation could fix all of it."

Booth rubbed his brow as he tried to digest what his mother just said to him. "Did you really think that we would have been able to stay here, my son and I, without me confronting you about some things? Without me trying to find answers to questions I've been asking myself for years?"

"No son, no… that's not it at all. I'm just saying that I wish we didn't have to have this conversation in the first place. I hate myself for doing the things that I've done. For being the person that I've been for twenty odd years." Her voice finally cracked as tears began to streak down her face.

He moved toward her and hugged her instinctively. "I'm not going to tell you that it's ok because it's not okay. _I'm_ not ok. But, please know that I love you. I love you so much. That's why I'm here."

Marianne cried in her son's arms. And Booth let her. He didn't need to say anything else to her in the moment. One wall had just been knocked down, and there were many more walls to go. But for now they both took satisfaction in the little progress that was made. It was the first time he'd felt genuinely happy since he'd gotten there.

After a moment, she pulled back from his embrace and wiped the tears from her face. A gust of strong wind blew her sheer white curtains wildly that hung over her window. The rod they were anchored to the only thing keeping them from blowing away. She hurried over to the window and closed it. "Looks like a bad storm is headed our way."

"Yeah," Booth replied, looking out at the branches of the trees bending easily with the force of the wind, "I noticed earlier."

* * *

**So I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Again, lots of building going on right now in the story…I ask that you trust me because when BB finally come together it'll be like what happens when you have Nutella for the first time. Orgasmic. I'd love it if you left a short, simple review letting me know your thoughts on this chapter. I love you all. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Inherently: Chapter 6**

**Thursday June 24th**** 6:18 PM**

Parker sat in the living room, his tiny chin propped by his fist as he stared out of the window no longer intrigued by the large raindrops that pelted loudly against the other side. Booth looked on at Parker from behind. He wondered if the amount of time that they would be away from home would be too much for Parker to handle right now. Maybe he should have planned a shorter trip, if not for the simple fact that Parker wouldn't be around any kids his own age. Or anyone else that he even knows, besides Jared, for that matter. He also knew that Parker missed his mom.

And he missed Bones.

He walked up to his son. "Crappy luck we're having with this weather this week, huh?" He sat down on the long bench that was situated just below the bay window.

"Mmhmm."

"Well," Booth sighed, "there are plenty of things we can do inside."

"No, it's ok. I'll just wait until I can go outside and play." He answered still staring at the dreariness outside.

"Ok, bud…"

"…. But while we're waiting…maybe we could go for some Pizza? Maybe we could invite…Uncle Jared?"

Parker sat up and looked at his dad and gave him the biggest most sincere smile he'd seen in days. "Awesome! Can you call him? Can you call him now and see if he'll go?"

"Ok, ok, relax. I'll call him. Don't worry." Booth got up from the bench and went to make his call outside. He stepped just outside of the front door and pulled it closed behind him. The rain was coming down in sheets but he didn't care. He stood outside under the small awning and made the call that he wanted to make.

"Hey, it's me."

"Hey man, what's going on?"

"Everything… it feels like _everything_ is going on." Booth answered grimly. "You find anything out yet?"

"I'm still working on the details but…" he paused, hesitant about delivering the information that he _did_ know, "you're not gonna like this, Seel."

"Tell me." His voice deep, demanding.

"Listen, Jared has been working for J for awhile now. Not exactly sure what he's been doing but I do know it's big. And I do know that your brother fucked something up and J is not happy about it."

"Shit." Booth wanted to punch something, _hard_, but not allowing an exit for the violence that was champing at the bit to be released he instead moved his free hand to the back of his neck and began kneading it to try and release some tension that way. "How much?"

"I really don't know man."

"Ok… Alright…." He said on a sigh accepting the fact that he was more confused and worried now than he was before. "Look thanks for looking into this form me."

"You can't fight this one for Jared. You know these guys, Seel. They're known for following through on their promises."

"Which is _exactly_ why I need to get to the bottom of this. Jared can't handle this on his own."

"Jared isn't nine years old anymore. You can't keep-"

"Hey - Derrick… don't." Booth warned.

_The other kids whispered names in encouragement trying to get Derrick to hurry up and pick the last player who would be on their team for the hockey game they were about to play. There were two kids left; Jared and a girl named Mona._

"_Pick the girl… pick the girl!" One of the kids whispered from behind as Derricks eyes shifted back and forth between his best friends little brother and the skinny girl who could barely stand in her roller blades without wobbling._

_When Booth and Jared had gotten home from school earlier that afternoon, they had come home to a drunken Joseph Booth who was passed out in the recliner. He was usually still working at that hour but, that was the day that he'd gotten laid off from that job. Usually Booth would grab his skates and head out by himself to play hockey with his friends from school, this time though, he took Jared with him._

"_Come on! Hurry up and pick the girl already!" Someone yelled._

"_I do need to be home before dark." Another kid commented._

_Booth watched silently and Jared finally caught on that he wasn't going to be picked. His head fell towards the ground and he began to walk towards the bleachers. "Alright, Mona, let's go. You're on our team today." Derrick said pointing his hockey stick towards her. The little girl moved towards the rest of the kids and Jared continued to retreat._

"_Hey." Booth called over the noise of kids setting up to play. All their heads turned towards him. "I'm out." He started taking his hockey gloves off._

"_Where you going?" Derrick asked, confused._

"_Bleachers. Jared's in for me today."_

_Jared's head popped back up and he smiled wide at his big brother. Booth gave Jared his gloves when he passed him on his way back to the black top._

"_Ah, come on dude, he's too little, he's gonna –"_

"_Hey," he cut Derrick off and approached him, "Jared… is… in." He repeated slowly, more aggressively, and then took a step back looking around to see if anyone else had a problem with it. No one did._

The memory of that day began to retreat once he heard Derricks voice break through the fogginess that had encompassed him so quickly.

"Alright, boss. I get it. Let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks, Derrick. Later."

It was when he hung up his phone that he saw that he received a message from Bones. He opened and read it.

_Agent Kohler called you my partnerboyfriend today. Isn't that ridiculous? I'm not even entirely sure what that means. What did you say to him anyway?_

Booth smiled at the message briefly before remembering that he still needed to call Jared. He would reply afterwards.

.

.

.

.

"Hey, Trav. Thanks for picking me up." Jared said getting into the car, "I'm still nervous driving around in my own car. I don't really want anyone recognizing me right now, you know?

Travis pulled out on the main road. "Yeah I understand… but I just hope that they don't find out I've been your underground railroad for these last few weeks."

"Don't worry. Nobody cares about you or what you're doing. All they care about is me and the money that I owe them."

"And did you figure out who exactly is going to give you fifteen thousand dollars before these guys decide to off you?"

Jared's phone started to vibrate against his leg, glad to have something to keep him from answering the question he quickly pulled his phone from his pocket, checked the caller ID and answered. "How can I help you, big brother?" Jared motioned for Travis to turn the music down.

"Yeah… sure… of course….."

"Yeah, tell Park I'll be there in ten minutes…"

Jared closed his phone. "Hey, change of plans; just take me to my mom's house. I'm going to hang out with my nephew today."

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The rain had stopped and most of the ominous clouds moved far off into the distance. Drops of water fell from the awning as Booth and Parker sat outside on the little front porch waiting.

Finally a green Honda Civic pulled up to the front of the house and Jared was barely out of it before it pulled off and drove away quickly.

"Uncle Jared!" Parker leapt from the plastic lawn chair and sprinted down the pathway to meet his uncle.

"Parker! What's up, buddy?" He shuffled Parker's hair around a bit before looking back up to the house to see Booth standing by the front door.

"Thanks for coming by today. Park really wanted you to hang out with us." Booth said as they got closer.

"No problem. I want to spend time with Parker. He's such an awesome kid." He said and then playfully bumped Parker with his arm.

"And… I called you here because I really need to talk to you about something."

Jared immediately went from looking upbeat and happy to completely exasperated. "Seeley, I'm not having this conversation with you again." He replied knowing exactly what Booth wanted to talk about.

"Stop. Ok? Just stop right there because I know. I know what and I know who."

"Yeah and what informant gave you this information?" Jared's sarcastic tone indicated his growing frustration. Booth paused, looked down at Parker, and then back to Jared.

"No informant. A friend. That I trust." He answered calmly.

Jared shook his head in disbelief, still very agitated despite Booth's calm demeanor. "You know what? I don't need this right now." He turned and started to walk away but Parker's voice stopped him in his tracks.

"Where are you going? I thought you were going to get pizza with us today."

Booth didn't say anything, only waited to see what Jared would do. If he would make good on his plans with his son or if he would walk away from him and hurt him while he was standing right there watching. A long moment passed before there was any response.

Finally, Jared sighed and turned back towards the house. "Yeah. Yeah, Parker. I am. I'm not leaving."

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Booth made it clear to Jared that they weren't going to discuss anything in front of Parker anymore; they'd wait until later when they were back at their mom's house to talk about what Derrick had told him earlier. The pizza place that they went to was within walking distance from the house and since the weather had cleared up they walked there. It was on the way back that Jared suggested that they stop at the playground to let Parker run off some of his energy.

The sun was setting, but hadn't set completely. It was during the point at dusk where the sky was dark, but glowed bright pink at the same time. Bats swooped from tree to tree replacing the birds who claimed the sky in the earlier hours of the day and the soft chirping of crickets replaced the rattling of Cicadas.

"Oh cool dad! Help me on the monkey bars!" Parker yelled trotting through the overgrown wet grass as quickly as his legs could go without running.

"Ok, sure bud. Come on." Booth started to jog along his son and a few seconds later Jared flew by them both hollering back, "Last one to the monkey bars is a cry baby mama's boy!"

Parker picked up his speed as he tried to contain his laughter and both Booth and Jared pretended to be running as fast as they could but not able to keep up with Parker who got the monkey bars first.

"Ha!" Parker exclaimed. "Both of you are cry baby mama's boys! Why don't you go cry to your mamaaaa!" Parker teased.

"You little…" Booth reached out for Parker and he screeched and dodged him. Jared laughed and moved to sit down on the bottom of the bright yellow slide to catch his breath. His side was still bruised from when he got his ass handed to him a week ago. He tried to inch his t-shirt up discreetly to check out his ribs. The blue and purple weren't as deep in color as they were a few days ago but it still hurt like a bitch trying to catch his breath.

"So which one of J's cronies did that?"

Jared flinched, surprised to see his brother standing beside him. "Jesus, Seeley. Scared the shit out of me."

"Sniper."

"Yeah… "

Booth moved to sit on the other side of the bottom of the slide. "Jared, I'm not out to give you shit or make you feel bad about making the decisions that you made, ok? I just want to know the truth and I want to help get you out of the mess that you're in."

Jared turned his head away from Booth and watched Parker on the swing as he swung his legs as hard as he could to get as high as he could as fast as he could.

"I'm not asking you for help, Seeley."

"I know you're not asking. And I really don't even know why I'm offering. But, I can't let this happen. I can't see something bad happen to you. You're my brother."

Jared stood up from the slide. "This isn't a traffic ticket, Seeley. These aren't good people who are trying to bring me down for something stupid that I did. These are bad people."

"I know who they are, Jared."

"Then don't get involved!"

Booth stood up from the slide he was sitting on. He wanted to look Jared straight in the eye, level, without looking up at him. "And exactly who is going to get involved if I don't? How much do you owe, Jared?"

"Doesn't matter."

"How much!"

Booth watched as the color suddenly drained from Jared's face. Booth turned immediately to see what it was that Jared was seeing. Two men were getting out of a black SUV with black tinted windows.

Booth's fierce protectiveness was activated. For both Jared and his son who was still playing just a few feet away... "Fuck..." Was all he could managed to say as his brain tried coming up with a plan. There was no plan. There would be no plan.

"Take Parker and distract him. I'll deal with these guys." Jared instructed.

Booth automatically reached for a gun on his hip that wasn't there. "Jared…" He didn't have his gun. He had zero control of the situation.

"I'll be right back." He pushed Booth's shoulders giving him momentum to start walking away.

Booth finally took a step back, turned around and headed towards Parker. "Hey, Park, look," Booth pointed in the opposite direction of where Jared and the two men were towards a small rock climbing wall that was built for kids. "Let's see how fast you can climb it."

"Alright! Parker skidded his feet in the dirt to stop the swing, jumped off and started off towards the wall. Booth followed glancing subtly back at the situation that he had no control over.

Parker stood in front of the wall and tipped his head back while he scaled it first with his eyes. Booth looked over his should, he saw one of the guys push Jared and Jared stumbled backwards. Booth looked away quickly. "Ok, Bub, now, the trick is before you start climbing you need to visualize in your head what path you want to take to reach the top." He said and prayed his son didn't notice the shake in his voice.

"Parker looked up towards the top of the wall again and then took a few steps back. "I don't know, dad. Maybe I shouldn't climb it… I'm kind of scared I might fall."

"It's ok." Booth encouraged Parker immediately. "It's ok to be scared. Just know that I'm right here. I won't let you hit this ground, understand?"

Parker nodded and Booth once again turned him so that he could face the wall. He looked back again to see an arm flying through the air. Jared was hit and Booth flinched as he tried to keep from reacting.

He focused back on Parker. "You can do it buddy. I know you can do it, just trust me. I won't let anything bad happen to you. I promise."

Parker moved closer to the wall and lifted his foot and placed it on the rubber nub.

"There you go." He steadied Parker as he pulled his other leg up and placed his foot on another nub.

Booth looked back again. Jared was on the ground looking up at this guys who were speaking rather aggressively at him. It didn't look as though Jared was fighting back, and Booth was glad for that. He prayed that these guys would just rough him up a little and then leave.

Parker reached up with his right hand and pulled himself up to another level. "I'm doing it dad, look!"

"I know Parker; you are doing such an amazing job. I'm so proud of you."

Booth looked back for the last time and saw Jared was still on the ground and the two men pulling off in black truck.

"I did it!" Parker yelled and looked down at his dad. "I climbed the wall and I didn't fall!"

"I knew you could do it. And I told you that I wouldn't let you fall."

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**Thanks for reading... more to come soon.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N - This particular chapter is probably one of my favorites in this entire story. This is a shorter chapter compared to the others, but it's shorter because it's more of a connecting chapter. It's wrapping up one part of the story and setting the tone for the second part. **

**Also (for those of you who keep threatening to not continue reading if I don't bring Brennan into the mix) Brennan does appear in Chapter 8. Eight chapters in I know is a long time to wait for B/B to be together but, it is what it is. And I'm sorry that you don't like it but I hope that going forward you enjoy what the story has to offer. **

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******Inherently: Chapter 7**

**Thursday, June 24th 8:56 PM**

"Go ahead and jump, I'll catch you."

Parker hesitated only a moment before he released his hold and let his body drop quickly from the top of the climbing wall. Booth caught him easily at the bottom and placed him securely on the ground. Parker rubbed his palms where they were red from squeezing the fake rocks so hard. He looked around, confused. "Where's Uncle Jared?"

Booth ran a still _very_ moderately shaky hand through his hair. "He's uh, he's over there." He nodded towards the other side of the park where Jared was standing and wiping dirt and grass from this his clothes.

"Why was he sitting in the grass?" Parker asked quite curiously.

Booth exhaled hard. He looked at his son for a long moment. Parker's puzzled, innocent little face seared right through to the part of him that upheld a certain standard when it came to his relationship with his son. Never lying to him was part of that standard. Even when he knew it was for Parker's own good, it still hurt. "I think he was just taking a rest. Let's go see if he's ready to go." Parker nodded, taking his father's word without any doubt or hesitation and turned to walk towards the other end of the park. Booth followed and guided him by placing a careful hand on the center of his back as they walked.

As they approached, Booth did not stop, but instead walked by Jared and looked at him once to communicate that he needed to walk with them.

"Hey, did you see me climb the rock wall? I went all the way to the top!"

Jared massaged the right side of his jaw and flexed it a few times to try to gauge the damage. "I did. You did a great job, buddy." He spoke through nearly clenched teeth. Meantime, Booth's pace was picking up. He was _livid_. He wanted to kill someone. And even if he convinced himself that that was actually a wise move he wouldn't even know who to start with. He was angry at Jared for putting Parker in this situation. He was angry at himself for putting Parker in this situation and he was angry at those low life scumbags for harassing his brother – in front of him and his kid – no matter the reason for it.

"Hey, wait up, you're walking too fast. Park and I can barely keep up." Jared hollered from somewhere behind Booth.

Booth stopped in his tracks and placed his hands on his hips. "Sorry, I just, want to get home before it's completely dark." He said between deep breaths. Jared picked up Parker and carried him on his back as he walked stride and stride with Booth. "Look, I'm sorry that this happened… I didn't know… I didn't think that…"

"You never think, Jared, that's the problem." Anger found a way to lace itself in his tone despite his efforts. _That_ pissed him off even more. He looked up at Parker, who was resting his chin on top of Jared's head and looking straight ahead completely unaware of his father's anger, his _own_ endangerment.

Booth turned his back on Jared and continued walking, this time, on high alert.

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**Thursday, June 24****th**** 9:23 PM**

Booth slammed the front door shut behind him.

Jared dropped Parker off onto the couch and he landed with a flop. "Thanks for getting Pizza with us Uncle Jared." He said as he grabbed his Nintendo DS and switched it on.

"Of course, man. Any time."

"Kitchen, now. " Booth commanded as he walked by Jared. Marianne was already in the kitchen making tea.

As soon as Jared walked in Booth was in his face. His eyebrows set low over his dark, fuming eyes. "My son was with us." He spat.

"Look, I know, I'm sorry, Seel. I really am. I had no –"

"Bull fucking shit, Jared!" Booth turned away from his brother before the sight of him caused him to do more than just raise his voice. "You know I guess this is my fault. I should have known being out with you in public could be dangerous."

Marianne, caught in the middle of everything finally spoke up. "Seeley, please calm down. What's going on?" She took turns giving long glances at both of her sons. "Someone talk. Please."

"You're son got jumped by his own gang while we were at the park."

Marianne's face went slack. "Gang? What gang, Jared?"

"It's not a gang, Mom. It's nothing." Jared responded evenly trying to diffuse the situation.

The conversation was momentarily put on hold when Booth's phone rang. After checking the call ID he knew he needed to answer it. "Hello?" He answered still staring daggers in Jared's direction.

"Booth, it's me. I've been trying to reach you all day and I started to worry when you didn't respond."

"Shit, sorry Bones." Booth paced to the other side of the kitchen and faced away from Marianne and Jared who started to argue between themselves. "It's been a rough day, I'm sorry."

"Is everything ok?"

"Honestly, I don't know. I may need to send Parker home early and take care of some things here."

"Why, what happened? What's going on Booth? Is Parker ok?"

"He's fine, don't worry. I can't really talk right now, but I'll give you a call later. Ok?"

"Fine, Booth. But please, make sure you call."

"I will Bones."

"Goodbye."

"Bye."

Booth walked back towards Jared who was standing with his arms crossed over his chest watching intently as Booth approached him. "Parker is going to go back home and then we are going to fix this."

**Friday, June 25****th**** 12:01 AM**

"Dr. Brennan." She answered groggily as she pulled her heavy sleep deprived body from her bed.

"Long time no talk."

"Jared?"

"Listen, I need to ask you for a favor."

"Jared, where is Booth? Is Parker ok?"

"Yes, they're fine. Look, please don't tell Booth about this but I need some help. I got myself into some trouble and I don't know who else to ask."

"You're serious? Please, Jared, learn to get yourself out of the trouble you find yourself in for once. It's late and I'm –"

"Temperance," She paused both at the sound of her name and the tone in which it was said, "Booth could be in trouble."

"Trouble?"

**Friday, June 25****th**** 1:40 AM**

He was restless. Every time he closed his eyes he would see him, Parker and Jared back at the park and only this time he would see those men walking up to him and his son after they were finished with Jared. They would be looking right at his son, knowing that Parker was Jared's family, maybe the only person in the world that he actually cared about other than himself. They would want to hurt Jared and hurting Parker would hurt Jared. He would reach for his gun and find that it wasn't there.

And then his eyes would spring open. The vein in his neck would rise he would begin to sweat and his heart rate would increase significantly.

But then he would feel the gentle weight of his son lying next to him in that tiny twin bed. He would hear him breathing light and easy and the sound would bring reason back to his outraged mind and calm the murderous storm brewing within him. At least for the moment.

He needed to get Parker home. It wasn't safe for him to be there. _That_ was no longer a question. It was no longer negotiable.

He thought about how he would tell Rebecca in the morning. He didn't want to lie to her about what was going on but he didn't want to be completely transparent either because he knew she may make things more difficult for him in the long run and he needed to take care of this without any involvement from anyone else. He needed to be able to go home with the right to see his son every other weekend still in place. He would just tell Rebecca that something came up. A work emergency – which he needed to handle right away. She would understand. Hell, one of the reasons she hated him so much when they were together was because all of those actual work emergencies that cancelled countless plans. She'd definitely understand.

And Bones. _Shit_. He needed to call her back. He sprung up from bed quietly and walked to the dresser across the room where his phone was charging. He pulled the cord from his phone, turned it on and waited impatiently for the screen to light up. When it finally did he quickly called her.

He was thrown off a little when she answered sounding very alert, like she hadn't been asleep or even resting at all. But he quieted those thoughts as he made a plea for forgiveness. "Hey, I'm sorry that it's so late." He said quickly and somewhat panicky.

"It's ok, Booth." She responded, simple and sure.

You know when you've been going through a lot of shit and you've been taking it pretty well, at least the entire time you thought you were taking it pretty well until you talk to that one person. That one person who knows you the most, that one person who is your crutch in life – they don't really have to say anything. It's their voice, their sincerity – that is what becomes your breaking.

And for some reason, her gentle voice and what seemed to be unwavering understanding of his constant shortcomings finally, after all these years of being friends, partners, and limited unknowing lovers was realized by him in such an intense way that no matter his protest a sob still shook him and tears flooded his eyes.

Brennan heard and knew right away that he was crying.

"Booth, it's ok. Talk to me."

He remained quiet for a few moments while he willed his voice to strengthen. "I'm trying to do the right thing, Bones." He finally said. "In all these situations I find myself in – I have to make decisions. The things I acted on and the things that I thought best not to – it's all because I thought it was the _right_ thing to do. And usually I believe that it is. My days go by and I'm fine with it – with my decision. But at night, when everything is said and done and I can't sleep, I'm wondering should I have done this? Should I have said that? And I'm just still trying to be the _good_ guy, the guy who does the _right_ thing. But it's still so hard for me to know what that is sometimes, Bones. I really just… I don't know."

"Booth, you are _just_ a man. Like every other man. But you are still exceptional which logically sounds very contradicting, I know, but it's something that I believe. You should feel very confident in who you are, Booth. I know that I feel very confident in you. I know that Parker does. And a lot of other people do too. Our entire team does."

He closed his eyes and held them tightly closed as her words sank into him. The feeling you get when you itch a mosquito bite – the pain of dragging your nails against the sensitive skin but the pleasure of relieving the intense itch – paralleled what her words did to him.

He turned and leaned back against the dresser and watched as Parker slept peacefully in his old bed. "If there's one thing that I know, it's that I never want to let you down." He confessed quietly as the tears finally let up.

"We can never be sure of the future, Booth. But I feel as though being disappointed in you is just something that will never happen."

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**Friday, June 25****th**** 10:08 AM**

Booth held his coffee mug tight – almost as tight as he held to the notion that _this_ was the only way. He had to be the one to fix this. It was _his_ _responsibility_. His mother sat on the plastic lawn chair just behind him looking over her now grown son. This once boy that she knew every part of was now a man who she knew nothing about. Yet, her heart still broke for him, because she knew he was hurting and because she knew that the problem that Jared found himself in was a problem that he felt like he needed to fix. It wasn't optional for him. This was _his_ burden. That's one thing she did know.

Parker came out onto the front patio. "My stuff is all packed up dad." Booth broke his train of thought and looked down towards Parker. "Ok, good, bud," He knelt down to his level, one knee on the ground, "I promise you Parker, when I get home we can do something super cool together. I'm so sorry that we can't spend the time that I wanted to spend together."

Marianne who had been watching Booth talk to his son had to look away. The pain she saw in his eyes, the hurt over having to send his son home was something he could not hide and it was something she just refused to witness.

"It's ok dad. I'm old enough to know that your work is really important."

Booth looked down to the ground and swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. Once he regained some of his pride back he looked Parker in his eyes once more. "I love you. And I'll be home soon." He put a hand around each one of his arms and squeezed them before standing to his full height again. "Be good for your mom, ok?"

"I will dad."

Rebecca pulled up to the house and Booth's heart clenched in his chest as Parker slung his bag over his shoulder and Booth bent down to pick up his other bag. But, just as quickly as the bag was picked up, Parker dropped his again. "Oh! I almost forgot." He ran over to Marianne and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. "I'll miss you grandma."

"Oh, Park. I'll miss you too. I'm so glad you came to visit me." She pulled back from the embrace and smoothed his blonde curls away from his eyes. "I know we'll be seeing each other again real soon. Parker kissed her cheek. "Later grandma."

Parker turned back to Booth. "And don't forget dad."

"I won't forget, buddy. I'll let Uncle Jared know. I promise."

"Oh Parker," Marianne hollered, "don't forget your skateboard."

"Nah, I'm gonna leave it here. For when I come back and visit."

Marianna's heart swelled, even though she still felt very sad. She was _proud_. Twenty six years ago she would have never in a millions years believed that at sixty years old she'd be working on re-establishing communication with her first born son, let alone any relationship at all. And that her very own grandson wanted anything to do with her at all would make her the happiest person on the planet would have been a laughable. She knew exactly how she got here, but she just didn't _understand_ it. She watched Rebecca come out of her car to meet Parker and Booth. She waved and smiled and Marianne waved and smiled back.

She watched as Booth was hesitant in all of his actions; putting Parkers bags in the trunk, hugging him, speaking to Rebecca, opening the back door, and stepping back from the car as it started. She watched as he took a few steps towards the car as it started to drive off down the road. She watched the look on his face change. Change from being sad to being determined. Her boys had yet to fill her in on everything that was going on, but she didn't need to know the details to know that she couldn't stop Seeley Booth from doing what he wanted to do

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**I was in a rush to post this – so if there are any crazy mistakes please let me know and I will fix them. Please don't tell me that my entire story is one giant mistake, because that cannot be fixed, lol. Thanks for reading. **


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